Bulls Drown Out SuperSonics, 87-75

The Chicago Bulls won too many games, set too many records to risk the title that was their destiny to a Game 7.

After letting the Seattle SuperSonics back into a series that looked like it would end in a sweep, the Bulls finished them off with an 87-75 victory Sunday night in Game 6 of the NBA finals.

Their place in history isn’t as secure as it could have been, knocked down a notch by a dogged opponent. Still, the Bulls are NBA champions for the fourth time in six years because they finished their season with the kind of all-around excellent game they needed to put a final stamp on a season of superlatives.

Playing with a focus and aggressiveness seldom seen earlier in the series, the Bulls beat the SuperSonics mainly with rebounding and defense--much of it by Dennis Rodman, who had 19 rebounds in one of the best games of his career--to overcome a merely mediocre night by Michael Jordan, who nonetheless got the championship he pursued so hard following his retirement.

After the final buzzer, Jordan lay face down on the court, clutching the game ball as his teammates celebrated around him.

Jordan had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and was named the finals’ most valuable player.

Chicago’s championship came on a home court where the Bulls won 49 games and lost only twice this season.